The Final Game
by Tallest Magox
Summary: An alternate ending/continuation of the anime in which Ryuk decided not to write Light's name in his death note after the Yellow Box incident.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Death Note, although it would be cool if I did.

**(January 28, 2013)**

A double-door made of glass was quickly shoved open to allow a bed and IV drip to pass into the critical condition ward of the Kanto Regional Hospital.

"We're in rout to the ER room now with the patient; have surgery prepped by the time we get there or he doesn't have a shot at making it!" One of the nurses rushing the bed down the hall yelled into her hospital-wide communicator.

"He's been shot five times. _Five times_. How could that happen this early in the afternoon?" The second nurse thought out loud.

"I don't know, you never hear about any gang shootouts or other small time stuff," The first nurse answered as the bed took a sharp turn around a corner.

"You think this kid is affiliated with a street gang? He looks like he's attending college judging from the way he's dressed."

"Look, all I know is, that the police are going to be here any moment and are going to keep this guy under surveillance twenty-four seven; he must have done something bi-"

All of a sudden, the patients arm lashed out and struck the speaking nurse, and he began to spasm about and scream incoherently.

"T-the patient has regained consciousness!" The second nurse shrieked as the patient tried and failed to pull himself upright.

"Restrain him!" The first nurse ordered as she and the second nurse shoved the screaming man back onto the bed and quickly connected two plastic rings to his wrists and the bedposts.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" He screamed in a panicked voice as he continued to struggle "I HAVE TO ESCAPE! HE'S BLAMING IT ALL ON-"

A large hypodermic needle was plunged into his restrained arm. Within moments, the world around him seem to blur, and darkness began to flood his vision.

_near…_

_need… help…_

_mikami… takada… _

…_misa…_

**(February 28, 2013)**

It started off like any other evening in downtown Tokyo. Students who were too lazy to study were flooding the shops, restaurants, clubs, and arcades. Bicyclists competed with foot traffic for space along the sidewalk, and lines of cars and taxis fit bumper to bumper together formed a wall of metal and steel that separated one side of the sidewalk from another. No one realized that today was going to be the start of one of the biggest events of the twenty-first century.

_WE INTERUPT THIS BROADCAST TO BRING YOU POTENITALLY WORLD CHANGING NEWS!_

The moment the announcement played on mega screens across town, all activity suddenly stopped. Students rushed back outside of their usual hangouts, bikers lost track of where they were going and several minor collisions ensued, and commuters abandoned their cars where they stood and stepped out into the rapidly growing crowds in front of the nearest screens. The screens had since changed to the NHN logo, which remained there for another 20 seconds, before switching to a newsroom.

"Good evening," A man with dark hair and square glasses that looked to be in his early 30's said from behind a curved wood-topped desk. "I am Mr. Masu, of the National Hourly News, here to bring you this special report. After a month of wild rumors circulating around the arrival of a critically wounded patient being treated at the Kanto Regional Hospital, the national government has released a report claiming that there is evidence to suspect that 23 year old Light Yagami is the mastermind behind the Kira epidemic that has killed tens of thousands of prisoners around the world in the last five years. We now hand this story over to reporter Hana Amarini, who is currently situated outside of the hospital now to bring you more info on this story."

"Thank you, Mr. Masu," A woman in a dark coat standing beside the entrance to the emergency room said as she turned to face the camera. "For those of you who aren't in the loop, a month ago a young man by the name of Light Yagami was brought to the Kanto Regional Hospital and treated for five bullet wounds and a severe psychotic breakdown. Rumor has it that the men who brought him to the hospital were part of the taskforce that had been formed to hunt down Kira five years ago. In a report that was just published by the National Safety Administration, it appears that these rumors are true, along with the fact that Mr. Yagami is now an official suspect in the ongoing case. The report states that the Kira Taskforce, along with members of the now-private American investigation force known as the SPK, tracked Mr. Yagami to the abandoned warehouse informally known as Yellow Box. Once both teams had arrived, it is said that the suspect resisted arrest and had to be shot five times before he could be slowed down to the point where he could be apprehended. His trial is slated to begin by the beginning of next month. We'll bring you more info once it becomes known. I'm Hana Amarini with the National Hourly-"

Near turned the active television set off from his usual spot on the floor. He was currently assembling a regiment of blue colored toy soldiers, who all had their old WWI style rifles pointed at a surrounded red-colored commander.

"Well, after five years, it looks like it's finally over," Commander Rester said as he poured himself a cup of coffee.

"What do you mean?" The white-haired boy asked as he lined more blue soldiers around the lone red one.

"I mean, you were right. You knew that Light Yagami was Kira, you fooled him into revealing that he is Kira, and now he's gonna get the death penalty or life in prison."

"You're jumping to conclusions, Mister Rester," Near said as he placed the final blue soldier into the ring surrounding the red one.

"Near, are you suggesting that there's a possibility that Light will be found innocent even after everything that's happened?" Halle asked as Rester joined her over at the sitting area.

"I would say that right now, there is probably an 8.28% chance of that happening. Make no mistake, the Japanese government will probably just condemn Light to death just on the slightest evidence that killing him will restore things to the way that they once were. However, Kira has been around for five years now, and the world still fears his wrath even while he's powerless; so they may be inclined to let him off the hook just to save their own hides."

Near knocked three blue commanders standing around the ring over.

"There's also the fact that evidence tying him to the murders can be considered flimsy at best. He was never spotted at the scene of the crime by any witnesses- and even if we tried to pin Mikami's death on Light, his fingerprints won't be on Mikami's pen. Also while it's true that we now have both notebooks in our custody and we know how they work, I find it highly unlikely that someone who has never heard of them will consider it a lethal weapon without a proper demonstration- something I doubt we'll be able to do."

Near knocked blue soldiers out of formation at random, till only a thin line remained around the red commander.

"On top of that, now that people know who Kira is, there's bound to be protests and rallies organized by the brainwashed masses in support of him- hell even riots are possible, if what happened at our LA HQ is anything to go by. If things get too out of hand, I wouldn't put it past the government to release him."

Near took out some reds soldiers and began to haphazardly line them up in clumps around the tight line of blue soldiers.

"Lastly, Light might still have a loyal subordinate or two out there ready to assist him at a moment's notice. Worst of all, they might have death note sheets. If that's the case, then things could go bad quickly; especially if one of them has the Shinigami Eyes."

A red tank suddenly rode out of its packaging and demolished the entire remaining line of blue soldiers. Near then placed the red commander on top of the allied tank and pushed it back into the safety of its cardboard base.

"So, even after all of the progress we've made in bringing this guy in, you still think that he might get away with it all?" Halle asked, her voice conveying a slight sense of dread.

"Only by a pretty slim margin. Like I said earlier, even with everything he has going for him, he only has about an 8.28 percent chance of being acquitted. Still, the fact that he has any chance at all means that we need to remain in the area to ensure that Light receives no 'extra-legal' help."

Near stood the three blue commanders back up, and placed them in a triangle. He then took out another red commander from the box set it at the very center of the triangle.

"Rest assured, we're probably on the home stretch for this case. Either Kira is found guilty and dies, or he proves that the world's legal system is now powerless to stop him, and he goes free. It all comes down to this."

* * *

><p>Misa sullenly reached a hand into a bag of lime and vinegar potato chips and brought a handful up to her face. Only about half of them made it to the intended destination, the rest just dropped off to the side of the couch or joined the pile of debris that was now sticking to the outfit that she had been wearing for the past six days now. To say that Misa's life had gone downhill since she heard of Light's hospitalization would be an understatement. The apartment she normally worked so hard to keep spotless was now littered with snack bags, empty cups, and more than a few liquor bottles. In the sink, two week old dishes were left to rot and attract flies. After showing up for work drunk one time too many, the modeling agency had terminated her contract, so now she rarely left the house- let alone bothered to move from the spot on the couch she had elected to sleep on. Above all, the fact that she had stopped caring about her appearance was a sure sign that things were not going well. Week old makeup caked parts of her face, she hadn't bathed in days, and she had even started putting on weight recently from all of the comfort food she ate. Not that she could notice something like that in her current state.<p>

The Lolita girl sighed despondently and tried to roll over, only to knock her bags of chips onto the floor and further coating the wood paneling in crumbs. Misa however, didn't seem to notice, and merely began to gaze listlessly around the room. Eventually, her eyes managed to focus on the atomic clock sitting on the coffee table.

"February… 28," Misa murmured as she read off the digital listing of the date displayed towards the bottom of the clock. It had to have been close to a whole month now since she had learned that Light had wound up in the hospital. She had been prepared to sit by his side for as long as it took him to get better and wanted to bring him homemade breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day, but those stupid policemen wouldn't let her see him at all! They wouldn't even give Light any of the 81 "Get Well Soon" cards she had tried to deliver to his room in the past weeks.

The longer she was separated from her one true love, the harder she took it. Slowly over the past month, she had spiritually decayed into the almost catatonic form that was currently sulking on top of the filthy couch cushions.

Misa jerked her right arm onto the coffee table, swinging it around haphazardly until it collided with the object she was looking for.

"TV…" Misa muttered as her fingers mashed buttons randomly until she found the power button.

There was a slight click that was followed by a flash of light as the rather nice widescreen TV switched on, causing the former model to recoil slightly from the sudden brightness.

"Good evening, this is the National Hourly News' 8 o'clock report," A man in dark glasses said from behind a curved desk. "For those of you who did not catch the initial broadcast, our top story tonight continues to revolve around the To-Oh university graduate Light Yagami-"

"LIGHT?" Misa screamed as she immediately bolted upright and sprinted as close as possible to the television.

"-Was recently admitted to the Kanto Regional Hospital where he was treated for several bullet wou-"

"WHAT? Who would dare shoot my Light?" Misa looked about ready to shove her fist through the screen. "Tell me that fucker's name so that I can make him pay!"

"-and was rumored to have been dropped off at the hospital by member of the taskforce that had been put together to hunt Kira down five years ago. An official statement released by the National Safety Administration today has confirmed this rumor, as well as announcing that Mr. Yagami is now the official suspect in the Kira case-"

Misa's heart skipped a few beats as she fell backwards into the coffee table, knocking it over.

"-his trail is slated to begin by the beginning of the next month. We'll bring you more information on the upcoming case as soon as it becomes available-"

The man on the TV continued to talk, but no sound seemed to reach the girl, who was now huddled on the ground in an almost fetal position.

"Th-t-they know! They know that Light is Kira now! They're going to put him on trial and-"

Misa rolled herself over and began banging her fists on the floor in a tantrum.

"NO! Nonononoononono!" Misa started to cry; hot tears breaking away streaks of her old makeup. After a few minutes, she had tired herself out, and now lay motionless on the floor.

…_Misa…_

The Lolita girl heard the voice of the person she cared about most in her head. She closed her eyes, and pictured the two of them together. ..

But… if Light was found guilty in court, then they would never see each other ever again…

Misa balled her fists and stood herself up, she then dusted off her black gothic outfit and brushed her hair out of her face.

"Light needs me. He needs me now more than he ever has before. I have to help him win this trial."


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** I have little to no understanding of the Japanese judicial system or Japanese law, please disregard any inconsistencies for the sake of enjoying the story. Thank you.

**(March 2, 2013)**

_Mr. Yagami…_

_Mr. Yagami…_

_Mr. Yagami…_

Light's eyes abruptly snapped open and he tried to pull himself upright, only to find that his movement had been hindered by a pair of plastic cuffs that were attached to the bedposts.

"Mr. Yagami, I need you to remain calm," A dark-haired woman with brown eyes who was wearing a gray sports coat and a skirt that came down past her knees said from a chair that was sitting a few feet away from the left side of his bed. "I know you've been through a lot lately, but panicking is not going to help your situation."

Light jerked his head and torso in the direction of her voice; causing a sharp, stabbing pain to course through his right arm. He winced and cried out for the few seconds it took for the pain to subside.

"W-Where am I?" Light said through a clenched jaw.

"The Kanto Regional Hospital's critical care ward. From what I was told, you've been floating in and out of consciousness for the past month- which I suppose only makes sense, since you're the victim of one of the worst cases of excessive force that I've ever heard of." The woman frowned, and Light detected a hint of disdain in her words.

"And you are?" Light asked

"Oh! Right. Introductions. My name is Ryokona Ito. I am the defense attorney that your family hired to represent you in your upcoming trial-"

Light's pupils dilated as thoughts began to race around in his head. "_A trial? Me? But- How?"_

That's when his memories of the Yellow Box incident hit him. Before he realized it, his mind was flooded with images of the warehouse.

_The Notebook was fake…_

_The Taskforce found out…_

_Matsuda shot me…_

_Mikami killed himself…_

_Near…_

"NEAR!" Light yelled in blinding anger and smashed his arms into the bedposts, sending excruciating pain through both limbs and causing him to cry out more.

"Mr. Yagami! Please calm down,"Ryokona snapped, bolting up from her seat. "If you aren't calm by the time the escort-"

"_He got me! That little bastard_!" Light's thought process began to rapidly deteriorate at this realization. "_It's-_

Light struck out with his arms yet again, before bringing his hands up to cover his face in shame. In his mind, a stained glass window representing his ideal world was shattered into millions of tiny pieces.

-_over_."

"-Oh here, your medicine; please take it, Mr. Yagami," Ryokona had moved to his bedside and was now holding a glass of water and two pills in her hands. "If you keep acting like this, I'll start believing that you really might be Kira."

As her words reached his ear, Light seemed to freeze up. The tiny shards of glass in his mind suddenly stopped before they hit the ground, and, as if the world had been put on rewind, the pieces began to slowly move back into their proper places. As the last shard fit back into place, his hands dropped back to his sides.

"You- you don't believe that I'm Kira?"

Ryokona frowned. "Of course not. Kira has orchestrated the murder of tens of thousands of criminals worldwide, there's no way that just single person could pull that off- it would take hundreds of trained assassins! Someone is just pushing for a scapegoat, and for some reason has decided that you're the one who gets thrown under the bus."

Light closed his eyes as he began to think again. "_Yes, she would think that, since she was never involved with the Kira case. She would have no understanding of the Death Note or how it works and she wouldn't know about the Shinigami; and if she doesn't know anything about those, then that means that she knows_-"A ray of sunlight floated into the room and struck Light as a smile spread across his face."-_nothing_."

"Well, that's reassuring," Light said in a quickly composed level tone as he took the glass and pills from his attorney. "For a second there, I thought that someone might have been spreading stories while I was here in the hospital."

"Well, they have announced that you're a suspect, and there's been an expected level of conspiracy ideas thrown around the internet, but that's about it."

"_Hmm, so now my name is officially tied to the case. A pity, but I guess things could be worse. The important thing is that the power of the Death Note hasn't been revealed to the general public, and only the people in the Taskforce and the SPK know about it. Well then, I guess there's only one thing left to do_."

Light finished off his thought by swallowing the pills and emptying the glass of water about half way.

"That doesn't sound too bad I guess," Light handed the glass back to his attorney, who simply put it on the nightstand next to the bed. "Hey by the way, do you happen to know when they're discharging me from the hospital? I was hoping to see my fiancé again before the trial starts and reassure her that everything will be fine."

"I'm afraid that you can't," Ryokona said, her voice carrying a hint of disgust.

"What? What do you mean by that?"

"Judge Masayoshi, the man who will be overseeing on your trial, has ruled in the pre-trial that you are to be kept under constant surveillance in a secluded area for the duration of the trial. He also said that you are not to see or speak to anyone other than me and the police watching over you or for the entire time."

Light made a face like he couldn't believe what he just heard, pausing just long enough to act like he was too surprised for words.

"_Dammit! I can't stop by the apartment and I can't send a message to Misa and have her kill them off with the pages I left her, if they're allowed to testify in court- No, they have to die. If just a few of them tried to testify about the death note, the Death Note's power is outrageous enough that I doubt people will believe it even if it's explained to them. After all, I myself didn't believe in the book's power when I first found it. However, if all of the Taskforce and SPK members were to describe the exact same process, then that might just lend enough credence for the judge to convict me. I'll have to find a way to get into contact with her soon; they have to be out of the picture before it's too late_."

"Is there any chance that the judge could be convinced to reverse his decision?" Light inquired a few moments later; if only to play the part of a poor sap who's taking the fall for something he has no connection to.

"Not likely, Mr. Masayoshi isn't known for reversing a decision once it's been made."

Someone knocked three times from the other side of the hospital room door.

"Ah, that must be the police squad that will be escorting you to your early incarceration," Ryokona half-spat, her words laced with venomous disdain.

Without waiting for someone to open the door, three policemen wearing riot protection gear that obscured their faces entered the room.

"Light Yagami, you are to come with us immediately. Are you able to walk on your own?"

"Yeah, I think I can,' Light said as two of the guards removed the plastic handcuffs. He tried to use his right arm and the bedpost to pull himself into a sitting position, but the pain of leaning on it was just too intense. Noticing his struggle, the guard on his left helped him upright and pulled him to his feet. Light was then escorted out of the room and lead through the hospital's front door, where almost two dozen other policemen wearing riot gear were busy holding back a pretty impressive sized crowd.

"Hey! There he is!"

"Is that really Kira?"

"Hey fuck you Kira! You can't just kill people because you feel like it!"

"He's so hot!"

"I wonder how he does it?"

"Maybe he really is god?"

"Shut up man, you don't know anything."

"KIRA!" A redheaded girl screamed as she emerged from between a policeman's legs. "You killed my father! You monster! Die!"

The girl drew a switch blade and made a beeline straight for Light, only to be intercepted by two of the escorting cops and wrestled to the ground. The knife was quickly confiscated and handcuffs were quickly locked onto her wrists. She then began screaming hysterically as the remaining escort repeatedly called for order and instructed the riot control line to make a push towards the parking lot.

"The crowd definitely seems energetic," Light mused to himself as the police formed up around him and began advancing towards a black armored SUV with tinted windows that was parked behind two standard police cars.


End file.
